Making a good thumbnail for your YouTube video is a key to making it work well. It needs to stand out from thousands of other thumbnails in search results, drive more clicks and increase your overall views.
In this post, I will discuss the best methods I have found to create a really attractive YouTube thumbnail that will get you more views.
PlaceIt
PlaceIt is an easy design tool that offers YouTube thumbnail templates that you can customize to match your brand. You don’t need any design experience to create an amazing YouTube video thumbnail, but the tool can be a bit limiting if you want to flex your creative muscles too much.
PlaceIt is about $89/year.
Canva
Canva is one of the best graphic design tools for online use. It includes templates that make it delightfully easy to create professional-level YouTube thumbnails, whether you have design experience or not. You can use it for any graphic design work you may have and it comes with more than 1 million graphics, templates, photos, images, and fonts with a drag-and-drop interface that’s super easy to use.
While Canva is free to use, it does have paid elements like certain stock photos and clip art. All of those elements are marked with dollar signs. Or, you can just buy the Pro version for about $120/year.
Canva is a popular online graphics designing tool where you can create different kinds of banners and posters. This tool lets you create Instagram Posts, Facebook Posts, YouTube Thumbnails, LinkedIn banners, presentations, logos, business cards, infographics, flyers, and more. So, you can make YouTube Thumbnails easily. You can either select a blank design to start from scratch or pick a ready-made template to edit.
Canva is available as an online tool and apps are also available for Android and iOS. Canva is free to use and has also integration of royalty-free photos. It also integrates paid elements like clip arts and stock photos. You need to pay only if you use paid element. Paid elements are clearly marked with a sign. If you regularly use Canva with pro elements, you can buy the Pro version for about $120/year.
PicsArt
PicsArt is a popular photo editing platform. PicsArt apps just let you edit photos but an online platform is an all-in-one tool for creating social media banners including posts for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and YouTube. This platform also lets you select from available templates, add stockers, effects, text, shapes and photos. So, you can easily make an amazing YouTube thumbnail that stands out.
See: PicsArt Gold Review
Snappa
Snappa is also a similar online tool that lets you create online graphics including banners, posters, social media posts, infographics, headers, and other kinds of banners. YouTubers can also use it for making beautiful YouTube thumbnails. There are several readymade templates, you can click and edit. If you do not want to use templates, you can also create a thumbnail from the scratch.
Snappa is free with limited downloads per month. If you do not want any limitations, you can get the Pro version. For the graphic designing team, you can also get the Team subscription where multiple people can work on the same account together.
Snappa’s an online YouTube thumbnail maker with stunning templates, loads of high-res images, and everything you need to create YouTube thumbnails that get clicked. It’s versatile and easy to use, making it a great choice for non-designers. Snappa gives you nearly limitless options to customize your thumbnails by creating them from scratch, adding custom fonts and backgrounds, shapes, and other design elements.
Snappa has both free and paid versions. While you’ll get everything you need with the free version, you can pay about $120/year for more features.
Snappa is also a similar online tool that lets you create online graphics including banners, posters, social media posts, infographics, headers, and other kinds of banners. YouTubers can also use it for making beautiful YouTube thumbnails. There are several readymade templates, you can click and edit. If you do not want to use templates, you can also create a thumbnail from the scratch.
Snappa is free with limited downloads per month. If you do not want any limitations, you can get the Pro version. For the graphic designing team, you can also get the Team subscription where multiple people can work on the same account together.
Visme
Visme is an easy-to-use YouTube thumbnail maker with tons of templates to choose from in a drag-and-drop platform. All parts of each template can be edited to change the shape, location, and size. You can add new sections from the panel on the left side of the screen to include custom text, icons, and graphics. Visme also makes it easy to apply an existing color scheme or create your own to match your brand colors.
Visme’s pricing is tiered: individual, business, or education. It does offer a free plan for up to 5 projects. Paid plans start at $168/year.
Logopit – Thumbnail Maker
Instead of buying expensive graphic design software, installing this thumbnail maker on your Android devices is a much better option.
The best thing about this app is its user-friendly interface that helps people to easily edit thumbnails if they don’t know a word about designing.
With this app, you can choose a base design for the YouTube thumbnail and modify it to make it visually appealing.
This app comes up with a variety of fonts and a full-color scheme that allows you to add text on thumbnails as you like.
The import feature of this app allows you to add images stored in your smartphone’s gallery.
Adobe Spark
Adobe Spark offers customizable YouTube thumbnail templates you can use to create amazing thumbnails fast. Adobe Spark doesn’t charge for use of its pre-made thumbnail layouts and even has a category specifically for YouTube thumbnails. While some may find the features a bit basic, Adobe Spark lets you add custom backgrounds, colors, text, and other elements so your thumbnails stand out. You can opt for a premium plan for about $100/year.
Adobe Spark is also an excellent online tool for creating beautiful YouTube thumbnails. Adobe Spark is similar to Canva and lets you create beautiful social media banners, posters, videos, and animations. This tool also offers customizable YouTube thumbnail templates to make your work easy. You can add custom backgrounds, colors, text, and other elements to make the thumbnail even better.
Adobe Spark is available for teams, individuals, and small businesses. As an individual, you can opt for an individual account. This platform is available for the web and mobile platforms. Adobe Spark is free with limited features but you can opt for a premium plan for about $100/year.
Fotor
Fotor offers great thumbnail creation tools that let you start from well-designed YouTube thumbnail templates that you can customize to your heart’s content. It has a simple, easy-to-use interface where you can edit your thumbnails and get access to all of the elements you need to make your thumbnails look amazing. Fotor includes text and design elements along with stickers and emoji to give your YouTube thumbnails a modern look.
Fotor is known as an online photo editing platform. This tool offers a photo editor, graphic designer, and collage maker. You can also use it to create attractive YouTube thumbnails. There are several readymade templates to choose from. You can also create a thumbnail from the scratch. The editor lets you change the background add text, elements, and more. The interface is similar to Canva but Canva is more feature-rich. Fotor is easy to use and most things can be done just by drag and drop.
Fotor is also free to use but shows ads. There is also a pro version for just $40/year and it offers several advanced features.
Pixlr
It is a specially designed application that is a version of the famous Pixlr website where you can freely add overlays to your covers.
You’ll also find an excellent selection of high-resolution filters, which sets Pixlr apart from other available apps.
You can get all types of editing features that can make your thumbnails look beautiful.
This app is offering several thumbnail templates that can make work easier for YouTubers.
With this app, you can access beautiful text design templates that can add value to your thumbnails. You can edit the thumbnails as you desire with this amazing video thumbnail maker.
You can also check: 9 Best Apps to Enhance Video Quality on Android & iOS
PixelLab
Image Gallery (3 Images)
PixelLab is a simple and easy-to-use app that’s popular for adding text to images. The software has text effects like inner shadow, emboss, and reflection, and the app allows you to create 3D text and overlay them on top of your thumbnail image.
You can use the app to create thumbnails. Fire up PixelLab’s preset aspect ratio for YouTube thumbnails and use the resize tool to adjust the layout’s width and height.
The thumbnail creator has a tool to change the perspective of an image. You’ll also find a drawing tool to create a simple sketch. You can add color, resize, rotate, and add shadow to your drawings.
PixelLab lets you upload images from your device gallery and add stickers, emojis, and backgrounds. With the app, you can make your background a photo, a color, or a gradient.
To enhance image appearance, you can adjust the hue and saturation of your photos, and add a vignette, among other effects. What’s more, you can save anything as a project to be reused even after closing the app.
Download: PixelLab (Free, in-app purchases available)
Conclusion
Youtube is one of the most popular video sharing sites used by netizens to upload, share and watch videos. One way to improve an engaging content is by providing a catchy thumbnail that will entice viewers.